In an attempt to better understand and deal with organized crime, the author argues that social network analysis has benefits in enabling an understanding of processes of recruitment into co-operatives to law enforcement and intelligence strategies. It provides a method of researching the real extent of infiltration by criminal actors into illicit activities. Social network analysis reveals alternative points of intervention for control strategies. Realistic assessments of criminal threats are identified as necessary. In the past, the threat of organized crime has, in some ways, been exaggerated. In the next century, law enforcement can hope to remain successful in controlling organized crime, if it can transform itself into more flexible modes of organization and operation. The author begins by providing a brief overview of organized crime paradigms, consequences of how organized crime is currently viewed, the meaning of referring to organized crime in terms of social networks, and recent developments and strategies undertaken in the Netherlands. Notes, references